The Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara is the oldest large stone building in the world. It was built around 2670 BC for King Djoser of the 3rd Dynasty, about a century before the Giza Pyramids, and it is where the idea of the pyramid began.
Imhotep’s idea
Kings before Djoser were buried under flat, rectangular mud-brick tombs called mastabas. His architect, Imhotep, built one in stone, then added five more, each smaller than the one below, making six steps about 62 meters high. Imhotep was later worshipped as a god of wisdom and medicine, and the Greeks compared him to Asclepius.
The complex
The pyramid stands inside a huge walled enclosure with a single real entrance, a colonnade of stone columns carved to look like bundles of reeds. Inside is the Heb-Sed court, where the king would renew his strength in a jubilee ceremony for eternity, and the South Tomb. Below the pyramid is a maze of tunnels nearly 6 km long. After a long restoration, the inside of the pyramid reopened to visitors in 2020.
Visiting
Saqqara is about 30 minutes south of Giza. Allow at least two hours to see the Step Pyramid and a few of the painted tombs nearby. Most of our Cairo day tours combine Saqqara with Giza or with Memphis.
